Jett James
| Jett James | |||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Will McDonald | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2012–2015, 2017 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 7 May 2012 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Lucy Addario | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Other names | Jett Palmer (adoptive name) | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Student | ||||||||||
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| Father | Richard Bozic |
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| Mother | Liz James |
| Adoptive father | John Palmer |
| Adoptive mother | Marilyn Chambers |
| Sisters | Shandi Ayres (adoptive) |
Jett Palmer (also James) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Will McDonald. The actor received a request through his agent to audition for the role of Jett. After two weeks, he was shocked to learn that he had won the part. Home and Away marks McDonald's first television role. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 7 May 2012. In May 2015, it was announced that McDonald was to leave Home and Away after three years and Jett departed on 1 July 2015. He later returned for a guest appearance in November 2015, and returned again in May 2017.
Jett was introduced as a rebellious teenager, who had plenty of attitude, but needed someone to trust him. He was forced to fend for himself at a young age because his mother was a drug addict, who often moved them from place to place. Following his mother's death, Jett was fostered by Gina (Sonia Todd) and John Palmer (Shane Withington). Todd thought that Jett was "a much-needed light" when the Palmer's relationship began to suffer. In February 2013, Jett developed a crush on Indigo Walker (Samara Weaving), which spiralled out of control when her husband was injured. McDonald earned a nomination for the Most Popular New Male Talent Logie Award for his portrayal of Jett.
The character and McDonald's casting was announced in late April 2012. McDonald had learned from his agent that there was request for him to audition for Home and Away. Two weeks after auditioning, he was informed that he had won the part of Jett. McDonald told Andrew Mercado from TV Week that he was "stunned" to get the role of Jett and later stated "When I got the part, Mum and Dad called me downstairs and Dad told me the role was mine. I was speechless. I thought this had to be a dream; I was so excited I could not stop jumping around." Jett is McDonald's first television role and he revealed that his first day on the set was "so surreal" and nerve-wracking. McDonald explained that it was hard to keep up with his school work during the week, so he has to catch up at the weekends. McDonald made his debut screen appearance as Jett during Episode 5512, which was broadcast on 7 May 2012.
Jett was introduced to Home and Away as a rebellious 13-year-old boy. A Channel 5 writer described him as "a delinquent with a lack of respect for authority and a knack for causing trouble", adding that he would fit in with Summer Bay's reputation for being "a playground to wayward teens". McDonald said that Jett would get on some of the other character's bad sides, especially VJ Patterson's (Felix Dean), while he would also make an enemy of Gina Austin (Sonia Todd), the principal of Summer Bay High. A writer from the official Home and Away website called Jett "a smart kid with plenty of attitude". He learnt to fend for himself because his mother, Liz (Sophie Gregg), was a drug addict, who often moved from place to place when she suffered a relapse. With no father around, Jett stole food and money to help himself and his mother. The website writer added that Jett is "a good kid" at heart, who loves his mother and just needs someone to trust him. McDonald told Andrea Black, editor of the Home & Away Collector's Edition 2012 magazine, that Jett was a regular teenager, who just wanted to fit in. He has had a lot of independence in his life due to his mother's situation. When asked what the most challenging aspects of playing Jett were, McDonald said "I've led an opposite life to Jett - he had this horrible upbringing, so I've had to put myself in that place as to what I would do if I had to survive on my own and provide for a family."
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